When last I checked in, Debbie was taking the puppies for a week during the critical socialization period. Monday was Debbie’s reality check as she realized that no matter how prepared you are for a litter of puppies, you aren’t. :-) By Monday night Debbie knew she wasn’t going to get anything done as she all wanted to do was sit with them.
So she got up at 3:30 on Tuesday just so she could have that sit with them time before school started. :-) Tuesday afternoon was the first day she brought them to her classroom (4th graders). That was a learning day for all. They quickly learned that 25 students don’t evenly divide by six puppies. They learned you don’t rush puppies and that colored rick rack collars are pretty cool.
Wednesday afternoon and back to the classroom. The kids were expert by now and what a difference 24 hours made for the puppies. Tuesday was all new stuff to them, Wednesday was old hat. Her class nearly panicked when they noticed that Pink Girl lost her collar. “How do we know who this puppy is"?!!! Debbie said, “Is it a boy or a girl? Is it black or brown? Whatever color is missing, this is the puppy.” One by one, the other grades came in to see them. When the kindergarten class came, their teacher asked, “How many puppies are there?” “One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven…” OK, they need to work on that counting thing. :-) Then they named their colors (coat and collars).
Thursday was the best day yet. Her whole class has fallen in love with these puppies but especially one boy. On Thursday he came to school with six little wrapped packages. Each one with a different color bow: blue, white, pink, purple, green, and yellow. A present for each puppy. This is Nevada Reading Week and Debbie’s class divided up among the two first grades and kindergarten to read to those students and help them with their AR (accelerated reading). What about the puppies? One student said, “Six divided by three is two. Each group will take two puppies with them”. So they did and they brought the presents too so the little kids could be there for the opening. Each group sent a messenger back to Debbie, “The puppies like their presents"! Their presents were appropriately colored squeek or rope toys. This is so touching because I know the little town where Debbie lives and that young man in her class must have made his mother drive the 50 miles to Elko so he could get those presents.
Friday is going to be another good day. Debbie is very proud of how well her students handled the puppies and she is pretty darn proud of how the puppies have handled all of their new experiences. Each student in her class is going to have his/her picture taken with a puppy of their choice. I need to write a very special thank you to her class and send them updates and pictures of the puppies. I’m sure they will want to know where each of these puppies ends up living. Hey, that could be a geography lesson!
Sheila Miller
Wolftree Acres
Nevada, USA
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